A farmer successfully appealed a decision by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in relation to the exclusion of animals from the reference period of the Beef Emergency Aid Measure (BEAM) in 2020.
The case was one of the 158 cases closed by the Office of Agricultural Appeals last year, as noted in the “2020 Annual Report of the Agricultural Appeals Office”, which was published this week.
One case, given as examples of agricultural appeals cases decided by appeals officers during 2020, is as follows.
The farmer had applied unsuccessfully to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine for the inclusion in BEAM of animals slaughtered one day after the final day of the BEAM reference period, the office notes.
The terms and conditions of BEAM defines an eligible animal as follows:
“Eligible animal” shall mean those bovine animals identified on AIM [animal identifications and movements] at midnight on July 29, 2019, as either those aged over 12 months presented to a slaughtering establishment approved under the European Communities (Food and Feed Hygiene) Regulations (SI 432 of 2009) in the period September 24, 2018 to May 12, 2019 inclusive, and/or those beef breed female animals with progeny born in the year 2018, which were sired by a beef breed bull.
According to the office, the department found that, as the animals in question were slaughtered on May 13, 2019 (outside the reference period of BEAM), they were not eligible animals
The farmer advised that, while the cattle were slaughtered on May 13, 2019, the cattle arrived at the slaughtering establishment on May 12, 2019, and provided evidence of same.
“The appeal was allowed as the terms and conditions of BEAM define an eligible animal in terms of the date the animal was presented to a slaughtering establishment rather than the date of slaughter.
“The animals in question, which were presented to a slaughtering establishment on May 12, 2019, are eligible animals under the terms and conditions of the BEAM as they were presented to a slaughtering establishment within the reference period set down in the terms and conditions.
“The appeal was allowed,” the office concluded.